Good Wednesday morning. I'm Jake Sherman and welcome to your Politico Playbook Audio Briefing,

sponsored by the American Bankers Association. And I'm Anna Palmer. Congressional leadership is headed

to the White House next Wednesday for an 11 a.m. meeting with President Donald Trump.

Republicans are already describing the meeting as a critical touch-the-gloves moment as they enter a

brutal month.

Democrats are more than willing to let Republicans figure out a way to thread the needle on government funding, disaster relief, and how to raise the debt limit.

Speaking of all those things, the new strategy gaining steam on Capitol Hill is to combine a

three-month stop-gap spending bill to fund the government, the first installment of disaster

relief for Texas and Louisiana, and increasing the debt limit. The reasoning, a package like

this would create an undefeatable constituency across the capital. Here's where things stand.

FEMA has enough money right now for its immediate response to Harvey, but Congress will need to give them more money in September.

Right now, it doesn't seem like we are going to have a shutdown in September. It is still possible in December.

Capital Hills is going to be far more interested in figuring out how to get Houston out from underwater than building a border wall.

This could all create momentum to dodge a bullet on raising the debt ceiling for Republicans.

Key Republicans involved with planning told us they would be willing to lift the debt limit

past the 2018 elections.

All right, and now for the skepticism, it makes sense that Republican leaders want to take care

of all of the must-pass legislation in one package and tie it up neatly in a bow.

But lawmakers have not come back to Washington yet.

Expect a hiccup or two along the way.

Typically, whatever leadership starts out with is not the package that ends up passing,

particularly in the House.

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